


if you could live forever in the past

by shazamitylam



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, reliving memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 15:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10924416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shazamitylam/pseuds/shazamitylam
Summary: “We had some good times together, you know.”Prompto misses Noctis, and Umbra grants him a chance to go back.





	1. in which the prince has an unconventional weapon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unsungillumination](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsungillumination/gifts).



> I wrote this for something that loz, unsungillumination, prompt(o)ed: “okay i dare u to write a compelling 3 part drama involving a toilet brush, a bedroom curtain, and a monochrome butterfly”  
> Hope you enjoy!

Umbra was a special dog.

Well, Prompto would say that every dog was special, but there was something _different_ about Umbra. Something magical.

Prompto had a few memories of Noctis talking about Umbra’s powers, but the specifics eluded him. He remembered the tone of Noct’s voice as he spoke of Umbra and Luna’s messages, but not the words. He remembered the fond relief on Noct’s face as he talked about how Umbra greeted him after his long sleep, but not the details of his story.

(He hoped that none of them would fade any more than they already had, but it was inevitable, isn’t it? That was why he took the photos, so that he wouldn’t forget Noct’s smile.)

The things he did recall were strange. They’d all witnessed Umbra appear before them within a matter of seconds of being called, but sometimes Noctis would act weird after kneeling down to greet the dog.

As if… Umbra had shown him something, a whole new life experience that Noctis hadn’t known before.

Prompto wouldn't put it past him. Umbra looked like a wise old dog.

When Prompto turned away from Noctis’s tomb, Umbra was waiting for him. Or maybe that was presumptuous; he couldn't imagine why Umbra would bother to visit him. It was more likely that he was there for Noct…

“So you miss him too, huh?”

Umbra sat and stared at him.

“You probably heard me talking to him. I know it’s kind of dumb, but I like to think that he can hear me.” Prompto huffed. “He’d probably laugh at me for talking to a dog like this. No offense.”

He knelt down to pat Umbra’s head. “Then again, he would talk to that cat as if it was talking back to him.”

His eyes began to ache. He forced a watery laugh. “He was actually really sweet.”

His vision blurred, but he could feel Umbra nuzzling at his palm. “We had some good times together, you know.”

“I just wish… I could see him again.”

* * *

 

Prompto didn’t realize that his eyes had been closed until the sting under his lids subsided.

When he opened his eyes, he almost choked on his breath. He… he was standing in the Crown City. Not the ruins or the half-restored version, but the city as it was before _everything_.

_I’m dreaming._

He looked around, his heart sinking when he realized he was standing in front of Noctis’s apartment. _I wonder if he’s in this dream._

His legs led him to the door and up the elevator in a long-forgotten familiarity of the visits he’d taken so often, so long ago. When he found himself in front of Noct’s door, he took a deep breath and swung it open.

The place wasn’t as big of a mess as it could have been, but there was still something very “Noctis” about it that made Prompto’s heart ache. He sighed and shuffled in further, sniffling a little. How many times had he walked in through that door with Noct after an exhausting day and collapsed on the couch together?

A crash and a muffled curse shook him out of his musings, and Prompto whipped around to find Noctis clutching his left foot in one hand and brandishing a toilet brush in the other.

_Wait, this is…_

Noctis, letting go of his reddened toes and flinging the toilet brush back toward the bathroom, glanced at him sheepishly. “I didn’t know you were coming. _Well_ , I did, but I, uh, fell asleep and…”

 _I remember this_ , Prompto realized. The stubbed toes, Noct’s sleepy attempt to protect himself from troubled dreams with a toilet brush…

“Were you going to _throw_ that at me?” Prompto asked aloud, his tone rightfully incredulous.

Noctis groaned and ran a hand through his messy hair. “I was like half-dreaming, okay? I guess I thought someone had broken in or something.”

“You were in the bathroom!”

“It takes me some time to wake up, _sue me.”_

Prompto wasn’t even offended anymore. “You almost warp-striked me with a _toilet brush_ ,” he laughed. “Good thing that trash can was there to stop you.”

Noctis glared at him, but the effect was lost by the sleepiness still lingering on the surface. “I’m gonna move that thing someday,” he muttered. Yawning, he made his way over to the couch and sank down. “Do we have to go out somewhere? Can we just stay here and… I don’t know, nap or something?”

Prompto stared at him. Some part of him wanted to cry, but he smiled fondly at his best friend. Noct hadn’t changed much, had he? In this way, at least. “You were asleep for like four hours just now! Besides, you know I don’t do naps… but I _suppose_ I could be convinced to stay and serve as the royal pillow…”

Noct’s grin and the warm hand that grabbed his own felt like a thousand pricks to his chest. Noctis raised their intertwined fingers to his lips and smiled against Prompto’s knuckles, and Prompto cursed his racing heart. This was it, wasn’t it? One of his most cherished memories, a warm and comfortable recollection in which both of them were safe and _happy._

Prompto sat down next to Noctis and closed his eyes when he felt the weight of Noct’s head on his shoulder. Had he drifted off back then, or had he stayed awake to listen to Noct’s soft sighs of peaceful sleep?

Prompto sank back, his eyes still shut. He didn’t want to fall asleep. He didn’t want to let this go. And yet… the warmth by his side seemed to envelop him completely, and he let himself float away into the darkness.


	2. in which Prompto hears an argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were times when Prompto was reminded that he really was important to Noctis.

Prompto awoke to raised voices outside his room. He glanced at the closed door and swallowed. Of all of the things to revisit, why the arguing parents? 

The dull gray clock on the wall ticked its way past midnight. After a second of hesitation, he sent off a quick text to Noct.

_ Hey, you up? _

Prompto shifted in his bed, uneasiness rising in his chest. This was the sort of familiarity that he didn't need.

_ Yeah,  _ Noctis answered.  _ What’s up? _

Prompto clenched his phone at a shout somewhere in the house. He didn’t remember what his parents were discussing, and he didn't  _ want  _ to remember.

Even so, he was stuck between wondering if they were arguing about him or if they even cared enough to talk about him.

_ Can’t sleep, I guess. Are you busy? _

There was a pause that seemed to last an hour. Prompto stared up at his ceiling, focusing on the ticking of his clock.

The phone finally buzzed.  _ Nah. I’m actually not sleepy. _

Prompto managed a smile.  _ Imagine that. _

He frowned as he heard a tap at his window. A few seconds later, there was another  _ clink _ of something hitting the glass.

This seemed...vaguely familiar. Try as he might, he couldn't quash the hope of a change in his fortune.

Cautiously, he pushed aside the heavy bedroom curtains.

_ …Noct? _

There he was, standing on the sidewalk with what was probably another pebble clenched in his fist. Noctis made a gesture as if to tell Prompto to come down.

_ What are you doing here!?  _ Prompto rapidly tapped away on his phone.

_ Wanna come over?  _ Prompto glanced outside to find Noctis messaging him back, the faint light of his phone flickering in the dark.  _ You said you couldn't sleep, so I thought I’d ask. _

Prompto held a shaking hand to the window. Right… Noct had done this for him once, hadn’t he? It had become such a small moment in the wake of everything that had happened to them that the significance had faded.

_ Faded, but not forgotten,  _ Prompto reminded himself. He had truly cherished these times with Noct in their teenage years, these pieces of happiness that had held up the weight of stress and his parents and his  _ existence _ .

_ I’ll be down soon. I think my parents are still awake. _

Prompto set down his phone. His parents…

He could see them again. He could see them one last time before the fall of Insomnia.

Biting down on his lower lip, he grabbed a bag and started stuffing the necessities. Could he really do it if this was a memory, something that Umbra wanted to show him?

_ Did he want to? _

Prompto paused and took a deep breath. Of course he did. Of course he wanted to see them, to talk to them without any harsh words or a sense of dismissal on their part.

But it wouldn't work. They were angry, and he had to go.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and cracked the door open. His parents had moved to their room by now, so he made his way through the dark toward the front door, keeping his steps quick and light. He tried to ignore the tightness in his chest as the voices of his parents grew more distant. 

Prompto nearly walked into Noctis as he stepped backwards out of his house. Noctis grasped his shoulders and spun him around with a hint of a smile. 

“Dude,” Prompto whispered, grabbing Noct’s forearm, “Are you okay to be out here?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he recalled that Noct had asked Gladio to come with him. They hadn't known each other that well back then, and Gladio had cut an imposing figure, but it had always been fun to hang out together…

Sure enough, Gladio emerged from the shadows, wearing loose track clothes and a sour look.

“Don’t worry. He’s here to make sure I don’t get in any trouble.”

“If you take any longer to get home, I’m just going to leave you here,” Gladio said, clenching his jaws to restrain a yawn.

Even though Prompto knew Gladio wouldn't  _ actually _ do so, he felt his heart drop at the words.

_ Stop _ , he told himself.  _ You’ve already been through this. You’re going to hang out with Noctis and things will be fine, at least for the moment. _

Gladio seemed to catch the shift in Prompto’s stance. He exhaled softly and slung his arms around their shoulders, pulling them to him and almost dragging them along at first.

“Come on,” he grumbled lightly. “If the Crownsguard caught word of you sneaking out alone in the dead of night, they’d freak out. At least you called me instead of being an idiot.”

Prompto glanced between Gladio and Noctis. “Y-you guys didn’t have to do this. Sorry to bother you, Gladio.”

Gladio shook his head. “No bother. It’s always interesting to see Noct’s friends.” He grinned. “Not that he has many.”

“Hey!” Noctis protested. “I don't need a lot of friends…”

After a pause, he mumbled, “You guys are more than enough.”

Next to him, Gladio made a choking noise. “You’re actually being sweet today.” He looked at Prompto. “You must be a good influence on him.”

Prompto felt the tightness in his chest grow, almost restricting his breath as he stared at Noctis, who was valiantly trying not to look at either of them.

He wished he could say something, that he  _ had _ said something back then about how much it meant to hear Noct say that and how much it meant to be a part of his life.

Instead he watched as Gladio teased Noctis a little more, grinning shakily when Noct looked at him with a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

How long did he have left? He wanted to stay here, a time of less worries and less  _ death _ .

Gladio stopped them in front of Noctis’s apartment. “I’d tell you not to stay up too late, but there’s really no point.”

“You could stay if you want to,” Noctis shrugged. 

“Nah. I don’t want to leave Iris alone at home for too long.” He turned to leave, waving a hand at them. “Have fun dealing with Iggy in the morning.”

“Wait, you’re going to tell him?” Prompto asked, eyes widening. Ignis had been intimidating in a different way, seemingly all sharp and detached.

“He’ll probably find out anyway somehow,” Noctis said resignedly. “It’s fine. Ignis likes you, so he’ll probably let it go.” In a louder voice, he called to Gladio, “I would have called him instead of you, but he’s getting some  _ well-deserved sleep. _ ”

“ _ As if I don’t deserve it?” _ Gladio’s outraged voice yelled back. 

Noctis laughed and slipped his hand into Prompto’s. The warmth made him shiver. 

“Let’s go inside,” Noctis said. “We have a lot of time until dawn.”

They walked into the darkened corridor together, and Prompto desperately tried to memorize the feeling of Noct’s hand in his as the presence by his side faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know that's not how people actually text...i couldn't imitate it realistically without breaking the style rip


	3. in which they chase butterflies together

His old camera was in his hands, the one he’d owned before Noctis had bought him a newer model with more storage and filters for his birthday.

“Where are we going? Am I even allowed in the Citadel?”

“You’re my best friend; I wouldn't let them kick you out.” Noctis shot him an easy grin, and Prompto’s face warmed.

“Still haven't answered my question,” he pointed out.

“We’re going to a garden that I used to visit sometimes. It’s so big that you could get lost in it.”

“ _ Did _ you get lost in it? Wait. Is this the place where you met Iris and you got grounded by your dad for wandering?”

Noctis grimaced. “Yeah. It was worth it, though.”

Prompto kept an eye on him as they stepped outside again, the greenery surrounding them. 

Noctis had taken him here to share part of his childhood home, to take pictures and to just… spend time together.

And Prompto found himself hesitating at every step. He wished that things could go slower, that they could stand still for even just a moment as Prompto tried to memorize every detail of Noct’s smile, the loose, warm grip of his hand, the rise and fall of his chest with every precious breath.

Noctis mistook his reluctance for awe at his surroundings. “Nice, right?”

Prompto raised his camera to take a shot of some vines entangling between tall oak trees. He jogged to catch up with Noct, and they slowed as they approached an area of blue flowers.

“Sylleblossoms,” Noctis said quietly. “I saw a lot of them in… in Tenebrae.”

“This smell…” Prompto inhaled deeply, recognition lighting his face. “It smells like-”  _ Luna’s letter.  _ He pursed his lips, not sure how Noct would react to him saying such a thing. 

Noctis didn’t seem to notice the unfinished observation. He appeared lost in thought as he knelt by the sylleblossoms and gently raised his fingers to the petals.

An idea suddenly occurred to him. Taking a deep breath, Prompto discreetly snapped a picture of Noctis, surrounded by the flowers with an inscrutable expression on his face. Before he could check how the photo turned out, Noctis stood and sighed. He tapped Prompto on the shoulder and gestured behind him.

“Look. I think that’s from Tenebrae, too.”

A monochrome butterfly, fluttering away along the path. Prompto’s eyes widened as he held up his camera. Noctis laughed and started chasing after it. “It’s gotta land somewhere. Let’s follow it so you can get a closer shot.”

Grinning past the film of tears in his eyes, Prompto ran by his best friend’s side. They’d separate soon in order to widen the search, and Prompto had a sinking feeling in his chest. He didn’t want to lose sight of Noct. He didn’t want to lose  _ him _ .

“We can split up,” Noctis said. “Call out if you find it, and meet me at the entrance if it’s taking too long.” Before Prompto could get a word in, the prince was walking away. Prompto choked back a plea for him to stop, to turn around and face him one more time.

Instead he stepped back and turned on his camera. The pictures… he’d taken one of Noct, hadn’t he? He flicked through photo after photo to no avail. Biting down on his lip in frustration, he looked up to where Noctis had been a few seconds ago. It had been the perfect shot, and of course he’d lost it… because this wasn’t real, was it?

Sure, it had been real years ago, but…

The butterfly flapped past him as if it was mocking him. Prompto followed it with his eyes until he caught sight of…

Umbra. Umbra was waiting for him.

“No,” Prompto muttered aloud. “Let me stay.”  _ Please. _

The dog stared at him, gaze unwavering, and Prompto found himself trudging toward him. “Why is this happening?” he whispered. “It’s like saying goodbye all over again.”

His eyes closed against a bitter sting. He sank to his knees, much like how Noct had done so minutes ago.

_ Or had it been years? _

There was a shift in the ground, dewdrops cold against his knees as he knelt on the grass. He reluctantly opened his eyes to find himself back at the graveyard, a world without Noctis that they’d all have to live in.  _ If only you could live forever in the past, huh?  _ Prompto smiled sadly, halfheartedly scratching behind Umbra’s ears.  _ But that’s not right either, is it? _

He held out his hand, and Umbra placed his paw on it. Prompto shook it lightly, letting out a soft sigh.

“You’re a good dog, Umbra… Thank you.”


End file.
